Garfield Park in Pictures:Introduction

All photos in this post are © by Joe Konz 

As any regular visitor to this blog knows, I lived a stone’s throw from Garfield Park in Indianapolis for almost 34 years. And for the last 20 or so of those, I spent a good amount of time in the park on various photo shoots. 

It proved to be a fulfilling – and convenient – way for me to indulge my creative side. I learned a lot along the way, about the park and neighborhood, certainly. But also about the craft itself, because I strived to have my images be of superior quality. 

Most of all, that investment of time helped me create a wealth of tangible memories, something that in the past two years inspired me to compose a series of blog posts, which I’m calling “chapters,” reflecting those memories in this series. The photos you’ll see here in the next few weeks are from that extensive collection.

I was in the 128-acre park, the oldest and and one of the largest in Indianapolis, with my cameras during winter, spring (see photo above), summer and fall, and I almost always came home with at least a couple of “new” compositions that I hadn’t captured before.

In that time span, I photographed:

*** Thirteen productions by the Garfield Shakespeare Company, an all-volunteer community theater group that used the park’s arts center and amphitheater to stage its spring and summer/fall annual productions. I also photographed several GSC practices in preparation for those productions. In the photo below, a frame from GSC’s 2012 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rock Blackwell (playing Francis Flute, second from left) reacts in disbelief after being informed by Chris Burton (portraying Peter Quince) that the role of Thisbe to which Flute has just been assigned for the play within a play Pyramus and Thisbe is that of a lovely maiden. Cast members behind Flute cannot contain their amusement to Flute’s reaction. 

*** Eleven musical and/or orchestral concerts and performances at the amphitheater, in the Sunken Garden and even one on the lawn along Pagoda Drive. Performances included three by Indy electric violinist and jazz musician Cathy Morris (2005, ’06, ’10), two by Beatles tribute band American English (2010, ’19), Ann McWilliams (2004), the Naptown Strutters jazz ensemble featuring Tom Mullinix (2004), Indy rock star Carl Storie (2005), the Wright Brothers (2006), the Indianapolis Philharmonic Orchestra (2008, see photo below), Indy rock band Epic Fail (2009), the Indianapolis Jazz Orchestra (2010) and the Indianapolis Brass Choir (2013).

*** Thirteen annual Sunken Garden floral displays (photo below is from the 2016 display). After moving to North Carolina in 2017, I returned to Indianapolis on several occasions to visit family and managed to stop at the park to photograph the last three of those 13 displays. 

*** Six annual spring bulb shows (2007-12, see photo below), one orchid show (2007), one chrysanthemum show (2007), various flowers and plants displayed in the park conservatory’s permanent tropical plant/rainforest section, the April 2007 Reptile Show and four Conservatory Crossing yuletide season displays (2010, ’14, ’16 and ’18). 

***The 2015 Mexican Independence Bicentenntial and Revolution Centennial celebration and observance, which included yet another concert, by Chicago performer Joaldy (Yanez).

*** Visits to four renditions of the annual “America, We Remember” Independence Day or Labor Day holiday observances (2004, ’06, ’10, ’13).

*** Three visits (June 2010, May 2012 and September 2012) on days when teams in the Vintage Base Ball League were playing games or competing in tournaments at the park.

*** The summer 2009 Sandstone sculptures behind the arts center.

*** The 2010 Native American Heritage Days festival (see photo below).

*** The May 2016 debut of the Garfield Park Farmers Market.

*** The 2022 rendition of the Indy Irish Festival.

*** A collection of some of the park’s striking and/or or unusually shaped trees.

Just to name a few.

This post serves as an introduction to a special presentation of a collection of these pictures that I took, organized in more than three dozen “chapters,” each covering a different subject matter. Chapters will post at the rate of one new one per day, and each should go live by 11 a.m. of the post day, sometimes earlier. Chapters are organized, and will be presented, in alphabetical order according to subject matter. Hence, Chapter 1 will be devoted to the “America, We Remember” observances, Chapter 2 will be about the Garfield Park Arts Center, and so on.

At the bottom of each post will be a list of links, in chronological order, to all previous posts/chapters in the series, which will enable visitors to easily jump to a prior chapter.

Those of you who live near the park or who visit it regularly should particularly enjoy the nostalgic journey in pictures. As for those of you who have rarely or never been to the park, perhaps this photo reminiscence will motivate you to stop by there in future travels. 

Coming tomorrow: Chapter 1, “America, We Remember”